Featured Author: Coral Moore with “Broods of Fenrir”

Discover the world within the pages of BROODS, available in ebook or paperback. Click image.

Greetings, y’all! Today’s guest is Coral Moore, whose stunning new book BROODS OF FENRIR is keeping the charts warm at Amazon. The readers are loving this one, calling it a must read for lovers of paranormal romance, shifters, and werewolves. And I’m excited to say one of you will walk away with your very own e-copy, so stay tuned to find out how to enter to win.

Welcome, and congratulations on your book BROODS OF FENRIR! This story promises to be powerful, with strong conflict on many levels for hero Brand Geirson. Can you tell introduce readers to the story? I love, BTW, how you have history for the story posted on the site. That’s both clever and fascinating.

Hi Sarah! Thanks for having me on your blog today.

Brand is a five hundred year old member of a race of werewolves called the Broods of Fenrir. He’s spent much of his life trying to escape the brutal nature of his culture, but events draw him back into the political snarl he’s been evading since he killed his father.

The history was a bit of background I made up while I was writing the novel and I decided to put it out there for people who wanted more information on the origin of my werewolves. I hope to expand on it before I put out the second book.

Whoa, that’s an intense plot! Did you plan to write a series all along, or did readers (or characters!) demand it?

I had originally planned for this to be a standalone book, with the possibility of writing other stories in the world at some point. As I was getting ready to publish this one I got an idea that has grown into a second book in the series. Book 2 won’t be the same as Book 1 for a lot of reasons, but it will be a continuation of Brand’s story.

It’s so rewarding when stories take lives of their own, and such a testament to the author’s talent. :c) I checked out your bio, and a science geek myself, I love how you pursued biology in college. How do you feel this complements your writing, or do you think there’s a relationship there at all?

Absolutely. I think my biology background comes through in everything I write. It keeps my stories grounded in the essential rules of the universe, even when I write about fantastical beings that don’t exist. The rigorous methodology driven into me by my science training helps me to resolve problems in my plots. Plus, knowing a thing or two about genetics comes in more handy than you might think. *grin*

Grounded with the essential rules – what a great approach. And how much do I love the tease about genetics? LOL!If a reader is unfamiliar with your work, which of your books would you suggest he or she read first? Why?

If readers want a brief introduction to the Broods world, there are two short stories available.

“Feral Attraction” is the story of how Erik and Bera meet. They are two secondary, but important characters in the Broods novel. It’s available for free on the Broods website.

“Chance Encounter” is the story of how Brand meets Alice. Their relationship is an integral part of the Broods storyline. It’s only on Amazon right now, and will be free on February 1st and 2nd.

I’m marking my calendar! Which genre are you drawn to as a reader? Do you prefer to read in the same genre as your WIP or do you mix it up?

I read a lot of genres, even more than I write. In general, I gravitate more toward the speculative fiction realm—fantasy, horror and science fiction in particular. As a reader, discovering the strange and interesting details of made-up worlds and creatures really appeals to me.

I love horror! And let’s hope that’s not a good segue to this, LOL: looking back over all of the intimate moments you’ve created between characters, which scene would you most like to experience for yourself? What makes it so alluring?

Wow, what an interesting—and difficult—question. All of my stories have a very strong romantic element to them. I like to write about complex relationships and their growth. There is something I love about every couple I’ve written, so it’s very difficult to pick one specific scene. I’m going to go in a slightly less sexy direction than the question probably intends. There’s a scene about halfway through Broods where Brand and Dagny share a hunting dream and then cuddle for a while. It’s a very sweet scene, and a pivotal moment in their relationship. For me it personifies that first intimacy between a couple.

Those first intimate moments always give me butterflies. And on the flipside of love, there’s war. ;c) Have you ever battled with any of your characters over their personality traits? If so, who won – you or the character?

Definitely! Before I started writing Broods, I would have said that my characters always behaved and never did anything I didn’t want. But, then came Brand. He’s a stubborn guy by nature and very single-minded. Once he has an idea how a situation should be tackled, he won’t be swayed. He and I have had words about this character flaw several times, but usually I’m the one that ends up giving in, because I know he won’t let it go. I’ve had to write several scenes around him as a result. In the end I think it made a better story, so I’m not too mad at him.

LOL! He may be a huge pain, but he sure does vouch for your strength at characterization! Have you ever made big changes in your story because someone – your crit partner, a friend, or beta reader – really didn’t like it? Are you glad you did (or didn’t)?

The advice I listen to the most consistently comes from my editor, because she has a good feeling for what readers need at different parts of the story. She didn’t care much for the original beginning of Broods after she read it, and I took what she said to heart, reworking the first four chapters quite significantly. I think the new start works much better to ease readers into my world, and the initial scene (with Brand at a murder scene) is now one of my favorites, so I’m definitely glad I made that change.

That’s quite a scene to kick off a book – I bet readers are hooked there! And of course there’s much to follow. How do you keep track of plot elements or twists?

I don’t have an organized system, and I know that’s one of the areas I can improve on. I use a combination of handwritten notebooks, Word and Excel files, and a storyline tracking program called Storyboard. Depending on the book I use a different combination of those tools. Some stories require very detailed tracking, and some I can get by with a few scribbled notes.

*Sheepishly raises hand at mention of scribbled notes* LOL! What are you currently working on?

I like to work on sevearl projects at once, because I’m a mood oriented writer. Right now I’m editing my next release, Elements of Rebellion, which is not in the Broods world and is a little more of a traditional fantasy rather than paranormal. I’m also writing the next Broods book, tentatively called Fenrir’s Chosen. Two other books wrestling for my attention right now are a fantasy romance and a science fiction. I guess I’m proving the point I made earlier about liking multiple genres. *wink*

That you are! LOL. And while we’re enticing readers with your work, let’s take a closer look at BROODS OF FENRIR.Then we’ll get to know you a little better and spill the details on the giveaway. Shall we?

BROODS OF FENRIR | blurb & links

Shapeshifter Brand Geirson was raised to rule the Broods of Fenrir, but he refused his birthright. Instead, he killed their brutal leader–his own father–and walked away.

For hundreds of years he’s avoided brood society, until a werewolf kills an innocent human woman and Brand finds himself dragged back into the violent politics of the shapeshifters. When the two brood women who mean the most to him come under threat, he must take up the throne and risk becoming the kind of vicious bastard his father was, or let the broods descend further into chaos–taking the friend he swore to protect and his lover with them.

CORAL MOORE | bio & linkage

Coral Moore has always been the kind of girl who makes up stories. Fortunately, she never quite grew out of that. She writes because she loves to invent characters and the desire to find out what happens to her creations drives the tales she tells.

Prompted by a general interest in how life works, her undergraduate schooling was in biology. She follows science news and enjoys conversations about genetics and microbiology as much as those about vampires and werewolves. Coral writes speculative fiction and is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Writing at Albertus Magnus College.

Currently she lives in Connecticut with the love of her life, who offers both encouragement and kicks in the tail when necessary. Also in residence are two mammals of the families Canidae and Felidae.

**Giveaway**

I didn’t lose you on the buy links, did I? You came back? Good! As promised, there’s an e-copy of BROODS OF FENRIR up for grabs, and if you’d like a chance to win it all you have to do is leave a comment or question for Coral. Don’t forget to leave an email address, and just like that, you’re eligible! I hope you’ve all enjoyed this visit with Coral and look forward to hanging out with you all in the comment section. Coral, it’s been a pleasure! Thanks so much for being here. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Thanks so much for asking this because it’s something I didn’t touch on in my interview. There are quite a few tidbits of Norse Myths in Broods. I’ve tried to give hints at their background without being too overboard with it because I know some people find it distracting.

Originally I had actual Old Norse dialog at a few points, but I eventually abandoned that idea because it made those parts difficult to read. The historical aspects of my werewolves will be touched on more extensively in the second book, but the short version (you can read a longer version on the Broods’ site if you like) is that Scandinavian barbarians enslaved a race of werewolves native to their area.

When reviewers describe a book with the words paranormal romance, shifter and werewolves, I think I can actually feel my wish list growing. Those glowing blue eyes on the cover are just adding to the almost irresistible drive to hit the “buy now with 1-click” button on Amazon. Is there a 12-step program for book addicts?

About Sarah Ballance

Sarah and her husband of what he calls “many long, long years” live on the mid-Atlantic coast with their six young children, all of whom are perfectly adorable when they’re asleep. She never dreamed of becoming an author, but as a homeschooling mom, she often jokes she writes fiction because if she wants anyone to listen to her, she has to make them up. As it turns out, her characters aren’t much better than the kids, but nevertheless, you’ll find her writing sexy contemporary romance for Entangled Publishing until they throw her out. To learn more, visit http://sarahballance.com.